Thomas Clouse

Investigators have no suspects in the death of a man whose charred body was found in the trunk of a car in Spokane Valley early Wednesday. The man, who police say was in his 30s, was badly burned inside a 1987 Ford Thunderbird parked near Forker and Bigelow Gulch roads.

Attorneys gave opening arguments today in a trial that a prosecutor described as a gang fight on Oct. 28, 2009, that ended with two men being stabbed. But defense attorneys essentially argued that the prosecution lacks enough evidence to convict their client.

The triggerman in the Hoopfest shooting last summer has been sentenced to nearly nine years in prison after previously pleading guilty.

Spokane medical marijuana dealer Scott Q. Shupe will avoid prison on drug-trafficking charges, at least for now. “In this case it was clear you didn’t intend to break the law, which is in a state of flux as we speak,” Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen said during a Tuesday sentencing hearing. “But the jury found you guilty. That’s what I’m stuck with.”

A Spokane man was sentenced essentially to time served Friday for a sexual assault in 1999 that remained unsolved until DNA caught up to him.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that preserving a fair trial for domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham outweighs the public’s right to know what evidence the federal agents gathered to justify charges against him. U.S. District Court Judge Justin L. Quackenbush decided against a request brought by The Spokesman-Review, with support from the Seattle Times and the Associated Press, to unseal the 35-page probable cause affidavit that describes why federal investigators arrested Harpham in connection with a bomb left along the planned route of the Jan. 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March in downtown Spokane.

Federal authorities want to block the unsealing of court records related to the arrest of domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham. In a 13-page response Wednesday to a request by The Spokesman-Review, with support from the Seattle Times and the Associated Press, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington argued against unsealing the documents, citing an ongoing investigation and concerns about pretrial publicity.

Federal authorities want to block the unsealing of court records related to the arrest of domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham.

Emergency rescue crews have been unable to locate a woman who witnesses said fell into the Spokane River Monday night while walking her dog.

When news circulated of Yakov Topik’s arrest in 2009 for robbery, assault and unlawful imprisonment, his mother received calls from friends and relatives from Ukraine questioning whether he and his brother were criminals. But Topik got his day in court last week and a jury exonerated him on all charges stemming from a road rage incident on Halloween 2009 that resulted in a Spokane County Jail employee suffering a broken hand.

A judge has declared a mistrial in the case against a Spokane Valley man who was facing up to 50 years in prison over an alleged attack on his ex-girlfriend and his former best friend. Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque halted the trial Wednesday because information that hadn’t been provided in advance to the lawyer defending 29-year-old Don R. Davis was given to jurors considering his guilt or innocence.

Be careful. On this day when friends often pull practical jokes, remember that sometimes things can backfire – terribly.

A judge has declared a mistrial in the case against a Spokane Valley man who was facing up to 50 years in prison following an attack on his ex-girlfriend and his former best friend.

The criminal trial began Tuesday for a Spokane Valley man facing a list of charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, in a case the prosecution presented as an angry, drug-induced ex-lover threatening both his former girlfriend and his former best friend. Don R. Davis, 29, faces a total of 10 charges, including first-degree burglary, drive-by shooting and violation of a no-contact order, in a trial being argued in front of Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque.

The father of domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham said he believes his son was set up by someone wanting to pocket the big reward posted by the FBI. “They put out a reward for $20,000, and one of his slimy friends turned him in for the money,” Cecil Harpham, 68, of Kettle Falls, Wash., said Tuesday. “Now, the government won’t admit it to me, but I happen to know it’s true.”

Spokane Police Department detectives used a GPS tracker to solve at least one recent business burglary, and they continue to investigate whether the suspect may have been involved in similar heists. Over the past several weeks, officers have received reports of more than 40 burglaries targeting tattoo shops, hair and nail salons, and other businesses, police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said.

The father of domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham said he believes his son was set up by someone wanting to pocket the big reward posted by the FBI.

Spokane police detectives used a GPS tracker to solve at least one recent business burglary and continue to investigate whether the suspect — who also happens to be a repeat offender — may have been involved in similar heists.

Appellate judges on Thursday rejected South Hill rapist Kevin Coe’s claim that evidence on dozens of sexual attacks shouldn’t have been allowed in his civil commitment trial. Coe had asked the Division III Court of Appeals to undo the civil commitment that’s expected to keep him locked up for the rest of his life. State laws allow the detainment of rapists who are deemed sexually violent predators by juries.

A jury likely will not learn that Otto Zehm was innocent of a crime when he was confronted by a Spokane police officer in a fatal encounter five years ago, federal appeals court judges ruled Thursday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supported a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle to exclude from the trial of Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. the evidence that Zehm had not committed a crime prior to the incident on March 18, 2006.